This new spot from Iliana Regan takes heartland techniques to a faraway place.

Considering the foraged whimsy that powered Iliana Regan’s rise at Lincoln Square’s beloved Elizabeth Restaurant, Japanese fare seems like a departure. But look closer at Kitsune, debuting January 20 less than a mile south of Elizabeth, and you’ll see similarities.

“Elizabeth uses Midwestern homesteading techniques, and we’re using Japanese ones,” Regan says, meaning that anything that can be made from scratch will be. The kitchen will craft tofu, ramen noodles in tonkotsu broth, and shio koji (a fermented brown rice seasoning, found in a cured rib eye with grilled rose petals). And, she promises, “there will still be some of that whimsy.”